Another blackout crisis in Berbice

Dear Editor,
I am penning this letter during what has appeared to be another blackout crisis in Berbice, and I daresay Guyana. It’s sad, really. The entire Canje area along with the Corentyne has been without electricity since before 5pm this evening (Friday), and up to this point (9.13pm), no power.

It came on not too long ago, but went off within a few seconds. This has happened the same day when we all read in the papers that the power company was experiencing another power crunch and that more money would be spent to acquire more oil-guzzling generating sets. We are hearing again that more power is needed and that the much touted Kingston power plant was not the life saviour many of us thought that it would be, especially for Georgetown customers.

Don’t even ask me about the Skeldon Factory. Clearly, that has not made any difference for Berbicians. As I type this letter, I very well believe that the entire Berbice area has been ‘blacked- out.’ I’ve been trying to call GPL’s Transmission Control at the Canefield Power Station (327-7182) for the past two hours, but the number has been continuously engaged. My guess is that the poor personnel at Canefield took it off the hook (as they always do during a power crisis, especially if the blackout lasts for several hours).

Just the other night (Wednesday) in the morning hours, there was another blackout which lasted several hours.

But Berbicians sit back and take anything. Berbicians don’t ever like to speak out. Who dares to speak out against this atrocity of the blackout culture in this place? Who dares to put pen to paper to expose the shabby service of GPL which has been evident in long blackout periods. We have a set of lazy Chambers of Commerce that remain silent during these blackout crises. They come forward and say nothing to GPL or the government. We have businessmen and concerned citizens who shut their mouths. One man writing letters to the press cannot do anything much except to highlight a plight Berbicians are all too familiar with on a daily basis.

Christmas 2010 season begins on Monday, November 1. This is going to be a tough one as it relates to the delivery of power to Berbicians and Guyanese as a whole.

The power has not been restored. It’s time to wrap up. It may never come back on until tomorrow (Saturday) morning.

Yours faithfully,
Leon Suseran